Turning apparatus



March 5, 1968 N. E. ELSAS 3,371,823

TURNING APPARATUS Filed April 15, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR NORMAN E. ELSAS 54 BY M, 1% 5! M6,;

ATTORNEYS March 5, 1968 N. E. ELSAS 3,

- TURNING APPARATUS 7 Filed April 15, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR NORMAN E. ELSAS BY 5W "ZAML ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,371,828 TURNING APPARATUS Norman E. Elsas, Atlanta, Ga., assignor to Nemo Industries, Inc., Atlanta, Ga., a corporation of Georgia Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 487,717, Sept. 16, 1965. This application Apr. 15, 1966, Ser. No. 549,110

Claims. (Cl. 223-43) This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No. 487,717 filed Sept. 16, 1965, now abandoned.

This invention relates to an article turning apparatus and more particularly to an improved pneumatic apparatus for everting articles formed of flexible sheet material such as textile articles.

In the textile industry many articles are assembled in an inside-out condition and have to be everted to place the'right side out before subsequent steps in the production of the completed article or before the completed article may be marketed. For example, trousers, coat sleeves, pockets, pillow cases, and numerous other articles are normally assembled on a sewing machine with the seam being formed on the outside of the article, making it necessary to turn the article to place the seam on the inside of the article. This turning operation is normally accomplished manually, either with or without the assistance of turning devices, and is at best a time consuming operation. Although numerous devices have been developed for turning sewn articles, these devices have generally been designed for turning specific articles and, accordingly, have not been readily adaptable for turning articles of widely differing construction. Accordingly, it is a primary object of this invention to provide an improved pneumatic turning apparatus for everting textile articles.

Another object is to provide an improved turning apparatus adaptable for turning textile articles of widely differing construction.

Another object is to provide an improved apparatus for turning textile articles which is automatic in operation.

Another object is to provide an improved pneumatic turning apparatus for textile articles which is fast and etficient in operation and which requires very little maintenance,

In the attainment of the foregoing and other objects, an important feature of my invention resides in providing a pneumatic turning apparatu in which a blower is continuously driven to maintain a subatmospheric pressure in a vacuum manifold. An elongated hollow turning duct is mounted on the vacuum manifold and terminates at the turning station in a nozzle portion having a cross sectional shape and size substantially conforming to the configuration of the open end of the article to be turned. A quick acting valve is mounted in the turning duct adjacent the manifold, and a valve actuator is provided to alternately open and close the interior of the duct to the vacuum manifold. When the valve is positioned to apply a vacuum within the duct, an article placed adjacent the inlet nozzle will be everted within the duct. The valve is closed, shutting off communication between the duct and the vacuum manifold to permit the turned article to be easily removed from within the duct.

If desired, an opening maybe provided in the duct between the nozzle and the valve, and a hinged closure provided to close the opening when a vacuum is applied within the duct. An actuator opens the hinged closure upon closing the quick-acting valve, to permit the turned article to be discharged, with the assistance of a pair of driven rollers, from the duct through the opening.

Other and further objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description, taken with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a turning apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the quickacting valve and valve operator mechanism;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged showing of the operator control mechanism;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the invention, with parts broken away to more clearly show other parts;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an alternate nozzle assembly for use with the turning apparatus shown in FIG. 1, with a portion of the assembly being broken away to more clearly show other portions;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on lines 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating an alternate construction of the nozzle assembly shown in FIG. 5; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of another nozzle assembly.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, a turning apparatus according to the present invention is referred to generally by the reference numeral 1, and includes a suitable housing 2 which supports a conventional exhaust blower 3 driven by suitable means such as electric motor 4. The inlet port of blower 3 is connected to a suitable vacuum manifold 5 having a generally rectangular opening 6 formed therein. A quick-acting valve assembly 7 is mounted on rectangular opening 6 and a generally rectangular hollow turning duct 8 is mounted on and depends downwardly from the bottom surface of valve assembly 7. Duct 8 terminates at its lower end in a flange 9 which mates with and supports a flange portion 10 of a nozzle assembly 11 having an opening in the bottom end 12' thereof, the opening being of the general size and shape of the article to be turned. A suitable screen 22 is mounted on valve assembly 7 adjacent the end of duct 8.

Referring to FIG. 2, itis seen that the valve assembly 7 includes a relatively short length of generally rectangular duct 13 having a butterfly valve element 14 mounted therein by suitable bearings 15. Valve element 14 includes a shaft 16 projecting outwardly from one side wall of the assembly housing, and has a crank arm 17 rotatably fixed thereon. Crank arm 17 is pivotally connected to the end of a rod 18 carried by the piston of a fluid cylinder 19 which, in turn, is pi-votally connected to a bracket, not shown, on the frame assembly 2. Fluid, under pressure, is directed to cylinder 19 through a suitable supply line 20 from a suitable three-way solenoid actuated valve 21.

Solenoid valve 21 is controlled by a timing mechanism 25. illustrated schematically in FIG. 3, and includes an adjuctable disc shaped cam 26 mounted for rotation about a fixed axis 27. A suitable variable speed drive means, not shown, drives the cam 26 at a uniform rate which may be varied depending upon the desired rate of operation of the butterfly valve 14. A microswitch 28 is supported on bracket 30 adjacent cam 26, and has a cam follower 31 resiliently biased into engagement with the peripheral surface of the cam. Switch 28 is connected in an electric circuit providing power to the solenoid actuated valve 21 when follower 31 is in contact with the recessed portion 32 of cam 26, and to interrupt thecircuit when follower 31 is in engagement with surface 33 of the cam. When cam follower 31 is in engagement permitted to flow from cylinder 19 through valve 21, and the action of the vacuum within manifold 6 on valve element 14 quickly closes the valve 7 to isolate the interior of duct 8 from the vacuum condition in manifold 5.

Since the valve 7 is only open for relatively short period of time, and further since the blower 3 is continuously operating, a number of turning nozzles 11 may be operated from the same blower, if desired. In this event, the valve assemblies are controlled by separate switches 28 positioned at various rotative positions around cam 26, with two such switches 23 being shown in FIG. 3 Also, the length of time which the valve 7 is open during the single revolution of cam 26 may readily be varied, as is shown in FIG. 3, merely by adjusting the cam to change the peripheral length of the portion 32 with re spect to portion 33.

It is believed apparent that actuation of the valve assembly 7 could be controlled by a manually operable switch instead of the automatic timing mechanism 25, and in turning some articles such as sweaters, trousers, or the like, manual control of the valve may be desirable in that it permits more freedom of action for the op erator. Alternatively, of course, the valve assembly could be actuated by a suitable mechanical linkage operated manually as by a foot pedal.

Referring now to FIG. 4, an alternate embodiment of the invention is shown in which the generally rectangular duct portion extends in a horizontal direction and is provided with an opening 41 in its bottom surface. A door 42 is hingedly connected at one side of opening 41 and is moved between an open and a closed position by a two-way fluid piston 43. Fluid, under pressure, is directed to the appropriate end of cylinder 43 through fluid conduits 35, 36 by a suitable solenoid actuated valve such as valve 21 which, in turn, is controlled by timing mechanism 25. A pair of driven rollers 44, are mounted for rotation about spaced parallel axes within duct 40 adjacent opening 41. Roller 44 is mounted on a fixed axis, while roller 45 is supported by pivoted bearing arms 46 for movement into and out of engagement with roller 44. A plurality of guide fingers 47 are mounted within duct 40 to direct a turned article positioned in the duct to pass between rollers 44 and 45. Additional guide fingers 48 extending from roller 45 to the lower edge 49 of screen 22 are provided to direct an article passing between rollers 44, 45 outwardly through opening 41.

Door 42 and roller 45 are moved in timed relation to valve element 14, as by fluid cylinder 34 under the control of microswitch 28 so that, when valve element 14 is closed, door 42 will be opened and roller 4-5 will be permitted to drop into engagement with roller 44. However, upon opening of valve element 14, door 42 will be quickly closed by cylinder 43 and/or the action of the vacuum on the door.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 4 also discloses an alternate embodiment of the entrance nozzle Stl which includes an expansible nozzle portion 51. The nozzle 51 comprises two similar relatively movable segments 52, 53 supported by a mounting bracket 54 on the flanged end portion of duct 40. Suitable means, such as two-way fluid cylinder 55, is provided to move the nozzle elements 52, 53 with respect to one another to expand or contract the nozzle to hold or release an article being turned on the mechanism, depending upon the position of valve element 14. Fluid under pressure is directed to the appropriate end of cylinder 55 through conduits 56, 57 which are connected to the valve directing fluid to conduits 35 and 36 so that cylinders 43 and 55 are actuated simultaneously.

In operation of the device illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, an article such as a pillow case is received from the sewing machine in an inside-out'condition. The article is picked up by an operator and held adjacent the open end 12. The timing mechanism will then automatically open the valve element 14 to place the interior of duct 8 into fluid communication with vacuum manifold 5 and the pillow case will be drawn into the inside of the duct and automatically everted. Valve element 14 is then quickly closed by the vacuum within manifold 5 so that atmospheric pressure is restored within the duct and the operator either withdraws the turned pillow case from the duct, or simply lets it drop into a suitable receptacle placed beneath the open end of nozzle 11.

Cam 26 is driven at a rate which will provide time for the operator to pick up another pillow case and place the open end on the end of nozzle 11 before valve element 14 is again actuated to repeat the cycle. Further, cam 26 may be adjusted to maintain valve element 14 in the open position only for so long as is necessary to turn the article.

It is pointed out that the screen 22 positioned within duct 8 between nozzle 11 and valve assembly 7 will catch any articles which are inadvertently released by the operator to prevent the article from becoming entangled in the valve. Once the valve is closed, the released article will then simple drop from the screen since the vacuum is no longer maintained in the duct.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 13 may readily be employed to turn articles such as trousers, shirts, sweaters, or the like, having a plurality of separate tubular portions. To accomplish this, the nozzle assembly 11 is replaced by an alternate nozzle assembly of the type illustrated in FIGS. 58.

The nozzle assembly shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, referred to generally by the reference numeral 56, is particularly well adapted for turning shirts, trousers, and other similar garments. Nozzle 56 includes a tray-like body portion 57 having a bottom panel 58 and upstanding side walls 59 terminating in an outwardly directed flange 4-0 for engaging and cooperating with flange 9 to support the assembly on duct 8. Panel 53 has a pair of spaced circular openings 61 from therein, with each opening 61 rotatably supporting a downwardly depending mouthpiece element 62.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the respective mouthpiece ele ments 62 include short downwardly depending tubular sections 63 having an eccentric flange 64 mounted on the upper end thereof. Flange 64 underlays opening 61 and is rotatably supported in concentric relation therewith by a second flange 65 rigidly mounted, as by welding, on flange 64, with flange 65 including a portion overlaying a portion of bottom panel 58 adjacent the periphery of opening 61.

Since tubular elements 63 are eccentric with respect to flanges 64, and further, since flanges 64 are retained in concentric relation with openings 61, any rotation of flanges 64 will alter the position of the downward ex tending tubular sections 63. Thus, the respective mouthpiece elements 62 may be rotated within their mountings to adjust their lateral spacing with respect to one another so that the nozzle assembly 56 may be readily adjusted to turn articles of various sizes.

The nozzle assembly 66 illustrated in FIG. 7 is similar to the nozzle 56 shown in FIG. 5 with the exception that the downwardly depending tubular portions 67 of the mouthpiece elements are concentrically mounted on their respective flanges 68. However, the longitudinal axes of the respective tubular elements are inclined with respect to the mounting flange so that rotation of the respective mouthpiece elements will change the lateral position of the bottom portion of the tubular element so that the nozzle assembly may be adjusted for turning articles of varying sizes.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a nozzle assembly 70 which is particularly well adapted for turning sweaters and similar articles is shown as including a mounting flange 71 and a downwardly depending hollow body portion 72. The body portion 72 is of a generally oblong cross-sectional configuration and consists of parallel opposed side walls.

73, smooth curved opposed edge Walls 74, and a smooth curved bottom wall 75. A pair of openings 76 are formed, one ineach lower corner portion of the nozzle assembly 70, extending between curved walls 74 and 75.

To turn a sweater or similar garment on the nozzle assembly 70, the sweater is threaded onto the nozzle assembly until the neck portion of the garment engages the curved wall 75 with the unturned sleeves positioned one adjacent each opening 76. Valve assembly 7 is then actuated to place the interior of duct 8 in fiuid communication with the vacuum manifold so that the sleeves of the garment will be everted through the openings 76. With valve assembly 7 still actuated, causing the vacuum within the duct 8 to hold the sleeves, the trunk of the garment is then manually pulled down off the mouthpiece and simultaneously turned. Butterfly element 14 of valve 7 is then quickly closed and ambient pressure is restored within the duct so that the operator may withdraw the turned sleeves of the sweater from the openings 76 of the nozzle assembly 70. Operation of valve assembly 7 is preferably controlled by the operator, through a suitable manually operated switch, when the nozzle assembly 70 is being employed to turn sweaters or similar garments.

In operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the open end of an article being turned may be placed on the nozzle 51 with the elements 52, 53 in the collapsed position, and then the nozzle expanded so that the article is retained by the nozzle. Upon opening of valve 7, the article will be everted and drawn into duct 40 between rollers 44, 45 with the open end being retained by nozzle 51. Upon closing of valve 14, nozzle 51 is collapsed, thereby releasing the open end of the turned article. Simultaneously, door 42 is opened by actuation of cylinder 43 and roller 45 is permitted to move toward roller 44 to provide necessary friction between the turned article and the rollers 44 to permit the driven rollers to eject the turned article through open door 42 into a suitable receptacle or upon a conveyer, as desired. Door 42 is then closed, roller 45 lifted from engagement with roller 44, and the cycle repeated.

While I disclosed a preferred embodiment of my invention I Wish it understood that I do not intend to be restricted solely thereto, but that I do intend to cover all embodiments thereof which would be apparent to one skilled in the art and which come within the spirit and scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A textile article turning apparatus comprising an elongated hollow turning duct having an open end, vacuum means connected to said duct for causing a flow of air therethrough from said open end, valve means mounted within said duct between said vacuum means and said open end for controlling the flow of air therethrough, an expansible nozzle mounted on said open end and forming an axial extension of said duct, said nozzle being movable transversely of said duct between a partially collapsed position to permit the open end of a textile article to be positioned thereover and an expanded position to releasably retain a textile article positioned on said nozzle, and means for actuating said valve means alternately between an open and a closed position to cause an intermittent flow of air through said duct to turn an article positioned on said nozzle.

2. The textile turning apparatus defined in claim 1 further including means for moving said nozzle between said partially collapsed position and said expanded position in ti-med relation with respect to actuation of said valve means, and a screen mounted within and extending transversely of said duct between said open end and said valve means.

3. A textile article turning apparatus comprising an elongated hollow turning duct having an open end, vacuum means connected to said duct for causing a flow of air therethrough from said open end, valve means mounted within said duct between said vacuum means and said open end for controlling the flow of air therethrough, a

nozzle assembly, means for mounting said nozzle assembly on said open end, a plurality of spaced openings in said nozzle assembly for turning textile articles having a plurality of tubular portions, and means for actuating said valve means alternately between an open and a closed position to cause an intermittent flow of air through said duct to simultaneously turn the separate tubular portions of a textile article positioned on said nozzle assembly, said hollow turning duct and said nozzle assembly cooperating to define a turning chamber into which separate tubular portions of an article may be simultaneously everted through said spaced opening.

4. The textile turning apparatus defined in claim 3 wherein said nozzle assembly includes means for adjusting the positions of said openings relative to one another.

5. A textile article turning apparatus comprising an elongated hollow turning duct having an open end, vacuum means connected to said duct for causing a flo'w of air therethrough from said open end, valve means mounted within said duct and movable between an open and a closed position for controlling the flow of air through said duct, means alternately opening and closing said valve means to permit said vacuum to cause an intermittent flow of air through said duct, a door in the wall of said duct between said open end and said valve means, means moving said door between an open and a closed position, and guide means mounted within said duct in position to direct a textile article moving through said duct from said open end outwardly through said open door, said valve means and said means opening and closing said door cooperating to maintain said door in a closed position when said valve means is opened and to maintain said door open when said. valve means is closed.

6., The textile article turning apparatus defined in claim 5 further including driven roller means mounted within said duct adjacent said door for engaging a textile article extending from said open end into said duct to conve the article outwardly through said door.

7. The textile article turning apparatus as defined in claim 6 further including an expansible nozzle mounted on said open end, said nozzle being movable between a partially collapsed position to permit the open end of a textile article to be positioned thereover and an expanded position to releasibly retain a textile article position on said nozzle.

8. The textile turning apparatus defined in claim 7 further including means for moving said nozzle between said partially collapsed position and said expanded position in timed relation with respect to actuation of said valve means.

9. The invention according to claim 6 wherein said means opening and closing said valve means includes a timing mechanism for automatically maintaining said valve means in said open and closed positions a predetermined length of time, and adjustable cam means for varying the length of time said valve means is maintained in one position with respect to the time maintained in the other position.

10. A textile article turning apparatus comprising an elongated hollow turning duct having an open end, vacuum means connected to said duct for causing a flow of air therethrough from said open end, valve means mounted within said duct between said vacuum means and said open end for controlling the flow of air therethrough, a nozzle assembly, means mounting said nozzle assembly on said open end of said duct, and a plurality of spaced openings in said nozzle assembly for turning separate tubular portions of a textile article having a plurality of tubular portions, said hollow turning duct and said nozzle assembly cooperating to define a common turning chamber into which separate tubular portions of an article may be simultaneously everted through said spaced openings.

11. The textile turning apparatus defined in claim 10 wherein said nozzle assembly includes means for adjusting the position of said openings relative to one another.

12. The textile article turning apparatus defined in claim 3 wherein said nozzle assembly includes a hollow body portion for receiving a portion of a textile article thereover in telescoping relation, said spaced openings being formed in said hollow body portion in spaced relation to one another with a portion of said hollow body extending between said openings to engage and position an article being turned thereon, said body portion having an open end and said means for mounting said nozzle assembly on the open end of said duct including a flange on said body portion adjacent the open end thereof.

13. The textile article turning apparatus defined in claim 10 wherein said nozzle assembly includes a closure panel mounted on the open end of said duct, 21 pair of hollow open-ended turning tubes each having one end mounted on said panel and having their other end projecting outwardly therefrom, and a pair of spaced openings in said closure panel, said spaced openings being positioned one adjacent each said turning tube to provide passage therethrough into said turning chamber.

14. The textile article turning apparatus defined in claim 13 wherein said nozzle means includes means movably mounting said tubes on said panel to permit adjustment of said open ends relative to one another.

15. In a textile article turning apparatus having an 30 elongated hollow turning duct terminating in an open end, vacuum means operatively connected to said turning duct for causing a flow of air therethrough from said open end, and turning nozzle means mounted on the open end of said turning duct, the improvement wherein said turning nozzle means comprises an elongated hollow body portion having an open end and a closed end, means on said open end of said nozzle means for mounting said nozzle means on said open end of said turning duct, and a pair of spaced openings formed in said body portion adjacent said closed end for receiving separate tubular portions of a textile article to be everted therethrough simultaneously, said closed end of said body portion extending between said openings to prevent movement of the article being turned between said openings.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,899,116 8/1959 Long et al 223-43 2,890,818 6/ 1959 Harralson 23343 3,251,518 5/1966 Lockrow et a1. 223-43 1,367,017 2/1921 Cartledge 22343 1,437,025 11/1922 Schulz 223-43 2,869,765 1/ 1959 Laxson 22343 2,994,561 8/1961 Kelley 223-43 FOREIGN PATENTS 217,980 6/1924 Great Britain.

340,033 12/1930 Great Britain.

639,148 4/1924 Canada.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

G. V. LARKIN, Examiner. 

1. A TEXTILE ARTICLE TURNING APPARATUS COMPRISING AN ELONGATED HOLLOW TURNING DUCT HAVING AN OPEN END, VACUUM MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID DUCT FOR CAUSING A FLOW OF AIR THERETHROUGH FROM SAID OPEN END, VALVE MEANS MOUNTED WITHIN SAID DUCT BETWEEN SAID VACUUM MEANS AND SAID OPEN END FOR CONTROLLING THE FLOW OF AIR THERETHROUGH, AN EXPANSIBLE NOZZLE MOUNTED ON SAID OPEN END AND FORMING AN AXIAL EXTENSION OF SAID DUCT, SAID NOZZLE BEING MOVABLE TRANSVERSELY OF SAID DUCT BETWEEN A PARTIALLY COLLAPSED POSITION TO PERMIT THE OPEN END OF A TEXTILE ARTICLE TO BE POSITIONED THEREOVER AND AN EXTENDED POSITION TO RELEASABLY RETAIN A TEXTILE ARTICLE POSITIONED ON SAID NOZZLE, AND MEANS FOR ACTUATING SAID VALVE MEANS ALTERNATELY BETWEEN AN OPEN AND A CLOSED POSITION TO CAUSE AN INTERMITTENT FLOW OF AIR THROUGH SAID DUCT TO TURN AN ARTICLE POSITIONED ON SAID NOZZLE. 